TOPICS OF THE TIMES.

Northern Advocate, 8 October 1920, Page 1

TOPICS OF THE TIMES.

It is much beter >to pulp roots and mix wth hay or straw chaff when f eedng them to dairy cows.

Keepling the calf pails clean helps to prevent scours in calves. They require scalding frequently.

One acre of good grass mown and fed ito igtock will go as far as two acres of equal quality when grazed.

For pig feeding, 61b of separated milk, 6:lb of ibutter milk, or 12 lbs of whey may be reckoned equal to lib of barley. These by-products are specially valuable for weaning pigs and nursing sows.

Sheep need shelter, more particularly when they have young lambs to look not to mention the lambs themselves and it is very necessary that a protection from the wind and weather Ibe given them.

The production of sound stock and its maintenance fre 6 from disease 'should constitute the 'greait aim of the breeder, just as the prevention of disease is the aim of %c veterinary and medical professions. .

There (is nothing like a. little linseed cake for keeping in-calf cows , in good order up *o the time of calving. This food-hias a mild, laxatlive action upon the 'bowels which, as .not possessed by any other nitrogenous foods.

Statistics compiled iby %c live stock branch of the Canadian Department of Agriculture show an increase in ithe live stock holdings in the Dominiion in 1919 as compared with 1909, of approximately 2,850,000 cattle, 716,000 sheep, and 1,127,000 pigs.

Live stock is th e foundation of all agricultural prosperity, and over a term of years the returns from live stock will be comparatively good. A steady, permanent policy of producwill .neit farmers more in the end than an "(in aaud out" policy with no objective.

Potatoes are often over-manured with nitrogenous fertilisers, with the inevitable result that haulm and foliage develop ito an excessive degreeand at 'the expense of tihe tubers, which are generally found to be of a waxy nature, altogether undesirable for market purposes.

In pre-war days the cost of producing an acre of wheat was estimated by Sir Thomas Mliddlefon to be £7 '9s. In 1917, according ito the Board of Agriculture, it had advanced to about £11, and to-day it can hardly be less than £14. Last year, with <a receding acreage, the wheat yield was 3.6 quarters per acre.

All records for fat stock in the Commonwealth have been foroke.i during ithe past month, as fat cattle have sold up to £71 or £55 for a truck; sheep up to £8; damlbs, £5 ss, and pigs £22 2s 6d. A line of 700 merino wethers brought 70s 6d while 2000 crossbreds averaged 725, the merino skims being sold at 22s 6d, and there is no chance of prices coming down for 'two months unless full supply of frozen meat can be got.